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An initrd is no longer used by default in Debian. See initramfs for the replacement.
What is an initrd
The kernel can use an initial ram disk (initrd) to start its boot process.
The initrd contains filsystem and device modules needed to mount the main root file system and start the Init system.
The initrd allows system startup to occur in two phases, where the kernel includes a small set of compiled-in drivers, and additional modules are loaded from the initrd.
The initrd files are usually stored in the /boot directory as /boot/initrd.img-kversion with a /initrd.img being a symbolic link to the appropriate initrd.
- The typical Debian user does not need to care about the initrd because it is created automatically when a kernel is installed. You can configure the behaviour of the initrd with the file /etc/kernel-img.conf.
See http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt
initrd kernel parameter
The initrd=filename kernel parameter specifies the location of the initial ramdisk.
Using Initrd
Read the latest admin-guide/initrd.html for more information.
Kernels before vesion 2.4 expected the initrd file to be a (compressed) block-disk image (formated as ext2 or minix fs). The initrd was created using mkinitrd. Read linux 2.4.35's Documentation/initrd.txt for more information.
See Also
Initramfs is the current default on Debian
InitrdReplacementOptions is an old page about choosing between initramfs-tools or yaird.
Debian Linux Kernel Handbook : Managing the initial ramfs (initramfs) archive
https://kernel-team.pages.debian.net/kernel-handbook/ch-initramfs.htmlinitrd man page